April 29, 2005
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Penn Relays lived up to its name Friday as the Boilermakers took part in four multi-competitor races. Some relays proved succesful, while others caused problems.
The Boilermaker men began their day competing in the 4x100-meter relay, where the team of Kenneth Baxter, Alfred Woods, Keith Hopkins and Kern Woods won its heat with a time of 42.03 seconds. Purdue won heat nine quite easily, blowing past smaller schools like Montclair and Alfred State, but their mark wasn't fast enough to qualify them for Saturday's championship final.
Baxter, running leadoff, pushed Purdue out to a comfortable lead, but Savannah State started to make up some ground after the first 200 meters. However, going into the final exhange, Savannah's third runner began to cramp and the team could not rebound from his injury. The Tiger would end up placing last in 48.14.
LSU posted the best time of the afternoon at 39.50, and they'll be joined in the finals by Texas, Nebraska, N.J. City College, Memphis, Monmouth, Temple and Virginia.
The Boilermakers followed that race with a pair of succesful showings in the shuttle hurdle relays, which was arguably their most competitive event, going against high-ranking teams from Florida, Tennessee and Nebraska. Although the Purdue men had not entered this event since the 2003 Sea Ray Relays, they were able to hang with the nation's elite programs and posted a fourth place time of 57.65.
Purdue, which led its entire heat, was boosted by Keith Hopkins leadoff split of 13.70. Kern Woods and Brian Kaluf followed with splits of 14.46 and 14.88 and Big Ten Champion Rickey Pinkney closed the race with a 14.230.
Tennesse won the team title from the first heat, beating Nebraska and Florida with a time of 54.97. The Gators led the first half of the race but stumbled late, allowing the Volunteers to grab its first and only lead during the last 100-meters.
Even though Purdue won't compete in this event for the rest of the season, it was important for head coach Jack Warner's sqaud to make an impression on the crowd of 30,000-plus.
"Winning our heat sends a message to the stands," said Warner. "Hopefully, all the high school hurdlers in attendance today will remember our win and will be more willing to buy into our program, which I believe is developing top-notch hurdlers."
"This is a fun race for the student-athletes," added asssitant coach Rodney Zuyderwyk. "It builds team spirit, and next to the 4x100 relay is probably the most interesting and competitive race to watch."
The shuttle hurdle relay also allowed the coaching staff to keep Pinkney active while keeping him out of individual events. The Florida A&M transfer has been slighly hampered as of late by a leg injury.
While the men were just getting adjusted the shuttle hurdles, the women were competing in this race for the second time in three weeks, and according to Warner they were much better Friday than they were at the Indiana State Invitational.
The Boilermaker women were in third place for most of their heat, trailing Pittsburgh and North Carolina, and at one point even fell behind Boston College. However, LaShauna Harris ran a flawless anchor leg and made up two places, pushing her team to a school record and runner-up time of 58.13.
The day did not end well for the Boilermakers. On the first leg of the 4x400-meter relay, sophomore Terrell Thompson was slowed by an injury around the 100-meter mark, which placed the team last in its heat and forced them to scratch out of the sprint medley. Thompson was slated to run anchor on the night's final relay.
In the field, Derek Watkins placed second in the high jump with a leap of 2.10 meters (6-10 3/4), matching his season best. Watkins beat competitors from Mississippi State, Tennessee and North Carolina, but could not out-perform Ohio State's Marios Iacovou, who registered a leap of 2.13 (6-11 3/4).
Purdue completes its stay in Philadelphia Saturday, sending J.P. Smolenski to compete in the hammer throw and Rayland Currie will go in the triple jump. Both events are slated to start at 11 a.m. (EST).